The first of a planned two dozen renovated Cuyahoga Land Bank homes and the first Cleveland’s Legacy Communities Revitalization Program home sold after just 48 hours on the market.

The three-bedroom, nearly 2,000-square-foot home located in the heart of the Central neighborhood was snapped up by first-time homeowner and current Garfield Heights resident Dustin Sheets who said he knew immediately he wanted to live there.

Sheet’s real estate agent Nick Ohlrogge said he and his client looked at about 18 houses before settling on the Central Avenue home that was originally built in 2005 and is now outfitted with new cabinets, appliances and flooring.

“We’re really cautious to look for good work and as soon as we walked into this place, we could see the renovation work was quality,” Ohlrogge said. “It makes sense when you see it’s a Land Bank home and all the people who were involved in making this happen. We were immediately impressed and knew within a minute or two that he wanted to go after it – and that’s what we did.”

The 3705 Central Avenue home marks the first sale of a planned 54 new and rehabbed homes as part of the Legacy Communities program, funded with nearly $10 million in Cleveland City Council’s American Rescue Plan Act dollars.

The aim is to rehabilitate 30 existing properties and construct 20 new single-family homes over the next three years in three historically disinvested neighborhoods with the funding.

In addition, qualified existing home owners could be eligible for home repair funding that has also been allocated as part of their grant.

A stronger but affordable housing market attracts new and younger homebuyers, according to Land Bank President and CEO Ricardo León. “This quick sale shows that younger homeowners will take a chance on these neighborhoods, these changing communities close to downtown Cleveland with beautiful housing stock and other amenities,” he said of the $200,000 home. “The Land Bank is looking forward to doing more work to help change the narrative for Cleveland, and this first sale is only the first step in that direction.”